Growth and Change

Topics

• Dawes Act
• Cowboys
• Transcontinental Railroads
• Homestead Act
• Electricity
• Grange vs. Railroads
• Monopolies and Capitalism
• Labor Conditions and Unions
• Ellis and Angel Islands and Immigration
• The People's (Populist) Party

Essential Questions

• Describe the Wild West of the cowboys.
• How did the completion of transcontinental railroads affect the economy?
• Defend capitalism and the rights of big business.
• Defend the right of the government to regulate business.
• Trace the development and successes and failures of labor unions.
• Outline the experience of an immigrant from Southern or Eastern Europe through Ellis Island and follow them for one generation.

Resources

• Buffalo Bill Cody describes his experiences as a Pony Express rider.
• Mark Twain describes riding the Stagecoach in 1861.